The present invention seeks to improve machine-generated and turn-by-turn travel directions so that they are expressed in a manner that is similar to how directions are expressed by humans. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for annotating turn-by-turn travel directions with retail signage and other commonplace landmarks.
There are numerous methods for electronically generating turn-by-turn and point-to-point directions for surface travel by motor vehicle, on foot, and etc. These systems utilize one or more databases containing geographic information that correlates information about roads and other features to an objective physical grid expressed in numeric values, usually latitude and longitude. In addition to, or as an adjunct to, generating turn-by-turn directions, these systems are capable of resolving street addresses to physical locations represented by specific records in the geographic database. This process is often called xe2x80x9cgeocodingxe2x80x9d.
Often, people attempting to follow directions generated by such systems, especially when traveling in unfamiliar territory, have difficulty correctly identifying the locations where they must negotiate a turn. Further, when traveling between turns, users have nothing to reassure them they are in the right place and moving in the right direction.
For example, existing systems typically inform users that they should be traveling in a particular compass direction, which can be of limited use if the individual lacks a compass. Similarly, these systems typically inform users that they should proceed on a particular route segment for a specified number or fraction of miles, which requires automotive users to divert their attention from driving to consult an odometer. Existing systems often inform users that they should proceed towards an intersection for a specified number of miles, which requires users to divert their attention from driving to consult an odometer. Existing systems typically inform users that they should proceed towards an intersection with a particular street, which can be of limited use if the user is unfamiliar with the sequence of cross streets and cannot see street signs that may be distant, poorly placed or missing.
Thus, existing automated route-generation systems may produce routes that are technically correct and precise, yet they can in many cases be prohibitively difficult for human users to follow successfully.
In view of the above-stated disadvantages of the prior art, an object of the invention is to provide a process and system for annotating machine-generated and turn-by-turn directions with the names of businesses and other common landmarks. The recognizability, size, illumination and prominent display of typical retail signage greatly improves the ease with which a traveler may orient themselves to the route that they are navigating and identify the locations where they must perform a maneuver. The present invention is an improvement over street names alone, because retail signage is larger, more prominently placed and better illuminated than most street signs. This annotation in interjected into the turn-by-turn directions at each turn or other maneuver. Also, it may be interjected between turns or other maneuvers along the route.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a means of adjusting the number and frequency of the annotations interjected into the turn-by-turn directions and to resolve cases where there are more candidate annotations than are desired for a particular turn or other route segment.
It is also an objective of this invention to provide a means to arbitrarily adjust the probability of a particular business name""s inclusion in generated routes. This creates a novel means to generate revenue by charging business for a greater likelihood that their business name will be annotated along the route.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a first functional component of the system generates turn-by-turn travel directions along a route. The first component provides geocodes of turns and other locations along the route. A second functional component of the system provides access to business listings referenced by geocode. A third functional component of the system selects points along the route to consider for annotation. A fourth functional component of the systems selects the business listing for which the geocoded location is within a radius of the point along the route selected for annotation and annotates the turn-by-turn travel directions with the business listings.